Telehealth Trends & News - July 2024 Recap
It can be hard to stay on top of all the news, trends, technology and insights breaking through in the digital health space. That’s why, while you focus on serving your patients, we do the work for you with this July telehealth recap.
With that being said—curious about what’s new in telehealth? Stay up to date on the CMS 2025 Proposed Rule, Talkspace’s AI Innovation Group, value-based care in pediatrics and an LCM approach to AI-enabled medical devices.
👀 Technology, Insights and News
AdventHealth Virtual MRI Program Reduces Inpatient Transfers By 94%
AdventHealth decentralized its advanced MRI services to community hospitals by implementing a virtual MRI program. The program provides remote guidance and support through live audio, chat and video functions, enabling technologists at community campuses to perform advanced MRI scans. Experienced technologists from the central campus then provide remote support to up to three scanning sites simultaneously. The program saw a 94% reduction in transfers and reduced hospital stays by 24 hours.
Read the full Healthcare IT article here >>
A Lifecycle Management Approach Toward Delivering Safe, Effective AI-Enabled Health Care
The implementation of AI into healthcare has shown transformative potential, but it’s also garnered a lot of debate on the safety and effectiveness of AI-enabled medical devices, as well as their trustworthiness, fairness and performance. In this FDA blog, industry experts offer insight into leveraging Life Cycle Management (LCM) as an approach to addressing these industry concerns.
⚖️ Policy and Regulatory
What the CMS 2025 PFS Proposed Rule Means For Virtual Care
The CMS 2025 proposed rule offers several wins for the telehealth industry. The new rule proposes a new payment pathway for digital mental health treatment when used in conjunction with behavioral health treatment. But it could all be a moot point if the government doesn’t extend flexibilities beyond 2024. The article dives further into what these HCPCS codes and G codes would cover as well as other proposal highlights.
Read the full mHealthIntelligence article here >>
The cost of Congress’ telehealth waffling
Congress is taking its time deciding whether Medicare should permanently pay for telehealth services—some are saying this is a mistake. According to industry experts quoted in the article, a continuation of short-term flexibilities could prevent players from making long-term investment into telehealth infrastructure.
Read the brief POLITICO article here >>
📣 Industry Conversations
Bringing Value-Based Care To The Youngest Patients
The American Medical Association dives into the topic of value-based care within pediatrics and what that will look like in the future. From refining the way we track EHR data to overcoming social drivers of health and offering better network support, AMA presents the topic through the lens of Jeffrey Bernstein, MD, a pediatrician at Pediatric and Adolescent Care of Silver Spring in Maryland and Privia Health, a member of the AMA Health System Program.
Read the full AMA article here >>
Why 2 Health Systems Created A Virtual Care Startup
Cleveland-based MetroHealth System and Charleston, S.C.-based MUSC Health came together in 2022 to form Ovatient, a virtual care nonprofit with a dedicated staff of virtual-first providers. In this article by Becker’s Health IT, dive into why and how the two health systems worked to build a more cohesive virtual care experience for their patients.
Read the full Becker’s Health IT article here >>
🚀 Growth Funding and Innovation
Talkspace Announces Internal AI Innovation Group For Responsible AI Implementation
As the race for AI in healthcare speeds up, Talkspace has announced the formation of an AI innovation group to improve provider efficiency while ensuring responsible and ethical use of AI in the platform. This all comes after Talkspace launched a Behavioral Health Consortium in April. The first feature launched after the formation was a “smart notes” tool, which works to generate notes between a provider and patient, integrating clinical insights.
Read the full mobihealthnews article here >>
HarmonyCares Gets $200M to Expand in-Home Value-Based Primary Care Model
According to the press release, HarmonyCares, which bills itself as a provider of value-based in-home longitudinal care, has raised $200 million of capital to bring its integrated, physician-led in-home care model to more vulnerable patients nationwide. The company supports more than 70,000 patients in 15 states through partnerships with Medicare ACO programs.
Read the full press release on Healthcare Innovation here >>
OpenLoop Resources and News
OpenLoop Partners with U.S. Business Action to End HIV and Commits to HIV Actions
OpenLoop, a leader in white-label telehealth support services, today announced its membership with the U.S. Business Action to End HIV. As part of their membership, OpenLoop has committed to several HIV Actions for 2024 that include; Lead on HIV, Worker Education, Support Local Communities, and Donate to HIV Organizations.
Read the full OpenLoop press release here >>
Supreme Court Overrules Chevron: How Could It Affect Healthcare?
If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve likely heard about the Chevron deference being overruled. However, many individuals are curious about what this means for healthcare and leaders are working to understand how it will affect public health policy. To get you up to speed on this latest ruling, we’ll shed light on the Supreme Court’s overruling of the Chevron deference and its potential repercussions on the public health sector.